Giants-Dodgers to launch 2013 season

The Giants will play a three-game series on April 2-4 at Dodger Stadium to open a schedule that will have new quirks because of the Astros’ move to the American League and two 15-team leagues.

The Giants will end the season with a six-game homestand against the Dodgers and Padres and play all five American League East teams in interleague games that are scattered throughout the season.

The commissioner’s office, which just released the entire 2013 schedule, has had to adapt in different ways to the new league setup. For one thing, the schedule becomes even more unbalanced, with the Giants playing 19 games against NL West teams instead of 18. There also are more two-game series, which teams generally do not like.

Here are some highlights:

As I’ve previously reported, the Giants will play three games at Yankee Stadium (Sept. 20-22). In fact, it will be their third-to-last series of the season as part of an entire week in New York that starts with three games against the Mets.

Instead of six games against the A’s, there will be four, a home-and-home played consecutively in Oakland May 27-28 and San Francisco May 29-30.

The Boston Red Sox visit AT&T Park for three games Aug. 19-21.

The Giants have a home-and-home with Toronto and also will travel to Tampa Bay, while hosting Baltimore.